


your eyes look like coming home

by ofjisoos (swelter)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, kid!mingyu, school teacher josh, single dad coups
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 03:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7084576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swelter/pseuds/ofjisoos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>seungcheol’s kind of hopeless with children, despite having one of his own. he's able to play around with kids and entertain them with his own childish antics, but he never knows how to answer to mingyu’s many enquiries about why the sky is blue, or why the moon is always following them around. seungcheol is well-versed in being technical and meticulous in his thinking skills, which is a great asset on the battlefield, but hardly so with making barely a lick of sense as he fumbles to simplify his explanations of how the world works to mingyu. </p><p>the thing is, joshua knows all the answers to those questions, and more. seungcheol secretly thanks him for that. joshua inadvertently makes parenting a little easier for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	your eyes look like coming home

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve had this sitting in my drafts for quite sometime, originally written out with different characters bUT i just wanted single dad seungcheol and kid!mingyu and school teacher jisoo so i revised it and here ya go.

so the thing is, joshua hong is really good with kids. he has a way of charming them into obeying his every persuasion with his radiant smile and gentle voice, and he almost always has a candy or two to spare for the kids on the playground. one kid in particular is magnetically attracted to him every time his sneaker-clad feet pitter-patter onto the tumultuous scene — and this kid just so happens to be the son of the famed choi seungcheol.

 

every time the sleek, black convertible pulls up into the parking lot, everyone in the vicinity stops and stares without fail. when the chauffeur steps out to open the door for his master, a cannonball of a boy jumps out of the car and heads straight to greet his peers near the swings. he is followed by a man dressed all too fashionably for the suburban area residents to not help but gawk at. everyone quickly goes back to whatever they were previously doing as he passes by, avoiding eye contact, deeming themselves unworthy of any sort of interaction with the acclaimed national hero.

 

the thing is, joshua doesn’t seem to be fazed by his presence at all. he spares seungcheol a glance at his grand arrival, at least, but immediately goes back to entertaining some kid whining about her broken doll or a book he was immersed in, pushing his reading glasses back up the slope of his nose. 

 

he only pays attention when mingyu runs up to him, brimming with stories from his day at school. the moment mingyu opens his mouth, joshua turns his focus towards him, and him only. joshua nods and laughs and reacts appropriately to every detail. the kid idolises him, and it’s plain to see that the feeling is mutual.

 

seungcheol settles onto his usual bench opposite of the water fountain and surveys the area through his shades, emitting an air of cool. 

 

actually, scratch that.

 

seungcheol settles onto his usual bench opposite of the water fountain and peers over his shades at his son interacting animatedly with the young school teacher, trying to emit an air of cool. emphasis on ‘trying’.

 

joshua doesn’t care to tear his eyes off of the little kid’s face. he invites mingyu to sit next to him and lets the little boy flip through his textbooks. at seven, mingyu is bright enough to read and comprehend words beyond his age level, but he occasionally stumbles across a word he struggles to pronounce and asks joshua what it means. 

 

every day, he comes home with a new word added to his extensive vocabulary. seungcheol admits that joshua deserves credit, of course, for being kind enough to explain the words to his son in a way that seungcheol doesn’t think he possibly could.

 

contrary to popular belief, seungcheol isn’t great at everything he does. he barely gets by with cooking most of the time, opting for takeout and the routine protein shakes (the latter never failing to make mingyu crinkle his nose in disgust). he’s terrible at angry birds and candy crush and whatever heck else game that is the current craze from the iphone app store (jeonghan always somehow gets him into them no matter how ridiculous they are). 

 

on top of it all, he’s kind of hopeless with children, despite having one of his own. he's able to play around with kids and entertain them with his own childish antics, but he never knows how to answer to mingyu’s many enquiries about why the sky is blue, or why the moon is always following them around. seungcheol is well-versed in being technical and specific in his thinking skills, which is a great asset on the battlefield, but hardly so with making a lick of sense as he fumbles to simplify his explanations of how the world works to mingyu. 

 

the thing is, joshua knows all the answers to those questions, and more. seungcheol secretly thanks him for that. joshua inadvertently makes parenting a little easier for him.

 

from his cool, distant observation, seungcheol guesses joshua’s telling mingyu a story of his own – no doubt as interesting as the little boy’s own tales – as he gestures and makes shapes with the wave of his hands. and just like joshua had been enraptured by mingyu’s recounts before, the seven-year-old sits and looks up at him in wonder, absorbing every word with special attention reserved just for him. 

 

despite the silent joint custody they seem to have over mingyu, seungcheol hasn’t actually ever spoken to joshua. sometimes it feels like joshua sends subliminal messages through mingyu’s recounts of whatever he’s told the little boy that day. it feels like joshua’s speaking to him through his son, telling seungcheol about his day at work and how he loves teaching music and how his students’ faces light up when he teaches them a new song, and how he gets along with the other teachers, amongst countless other things. 

 

that being said, seungcheol’s never actually even _heard_ him talk — he’s always sat a safe distance, hindered by his secret affinity for joshua. (the years before in which seungcheol managed to charm the pants right off of just about anybody are apparently long gone in the face of the handsome school teacher.)

 

but it feels like seungcheol’s known joshua for years, consistently hearing about him through mingyu’s lively chatter. he knows that joshua is a little obsessed with pb&j sandwiches (no crusts). he knows that joshua plays the guitar really well. he knows that joshua’s born and raised in california, and he’d only been in south korea for about four years. he knows that joshua frequents the barbeque place downtown on his days off. 

 

it makes seungcheol wonder if joshua knows just as much about him.

 

presently, mingyu is pointing in his direction, and for the first time since their arrival, joshua looks at him. 

 

seungcheol pointedly looks away, pretending to be fixated at a couple of kids playing in the sandbox. he feels his heartbeat escalate slightly and his cheeks flush, feeling joshua’s gaze on him. _goddammit, this is embarrassing_ , he thinks. his body is reacting like how it would back in his preteen years when a boy or girl he had a crush on paid the slightest attention to him. mentally slapping himself, seungcheol reminds himself that he is turning 27 soon. 

 

he’s so concentrated on trying to look unaffected that he doesn’t notice joshua and mingyu walking his way, and stopping right in front of him. 

 

joshua says a polite greeting and bows. “i don’t think we’ve spoken,” he smiles at seungcheol, all teeth and pink lips. “i’m joshua,”

 

seungcheol’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline in surprise. he takes off his shades and regards joshua with a bow and what he considers to be his best attempt at a smile. mingyu has his hand in joshua's, swinging their arms back-and-forth and the cheeky grin on his son's face makes seungcheol’s stomach churn the slightest bit.

 

seungcheol clears his throat, regaining composure. “nice to meet you. i’m seungcheol, as you may know.” the moment the words slip out of his mouth, he immediately regrets it. 

 

_way to sound like a douchebag, cheol_ , he hears jeonghan chuckle in his head.

 

“oh, i do know,” joshua laughs, eyes turning into crescents, “mingyu’s told me a lot about you. that, and the many news reports and magazine spreads of you literally everywhere.” there’s a teasing glint in his eye that makes the heat return to seungcheol’s cheeks.

 

“sorry,” seungcheol shakes his head, chuckling in embarrassment, “i must’ve sounded pretty full of myself.”

 

“kinda. but you have every right to be,” joshua reassured him, “you did singlehandedly save the entirety of this nation.” the lilt in his tone indicates that he isn’t done gently poking fun at seungcheol. (seungcheol is more caught up in his smile rather than the jabbing remarks.)

 

“now that’s just false reporting,” seungcheol replies modestly, “i definitely had help from the rest of them.” 

 

“of course you did,” joshua nods, “what’s a hero without his comrades?” he looks at the vacant spot on the bench next to him. “may i?” 

 

“of course,” seungcheol gestures courteously, and joshua settles down next to him with mingyu nestled between the two of them, acting as a small barrier of sorts. the kid is surprisingly quiet, choosing to sit back and observe, making seungcheol all the more nervous.

 

“so, um,” seungcheol starts after a beat of silence, “i heard that you teach music at pledis.”

 

“yeah, i do. it’s not too generous with the salary, but i make do. and i love the kids. they’re all so enthusiastic and eager to learn.” he continues to smile serenely, and seungcheol wonders if he ever tires of keeping up that luminescent glow all the time.

 

“ah. well, mingyu’s told me you play a couple of instruments, too,” seungcheol pulls out another fact he’s heard about joshua to keep the conversation going.

 

“yeah, i do. my first instrument is guitar, but i play the piano and viola too,” joshua elaborates, “do you play anything?” 

 

“oh? no. i’m pretty inept at anything music-related, unfortunately,” seungcheol jokes. 

 

“really? that’s kind of a surprise,” joshua’s jaw drops slightly, “mingyu has quite the ear for music. i think he’ll be brilliant with any kind of instrument.”

 

at the mention of that, mingyu pipes up for the first time since they’ve come around. “yeah, appa! i really, really wanna start learning how to play the guitar,” he says eagerly, looking up at seungcheol with wide eyes, “pleaaase? i can walk from school to his house and drop me off at home after. then we can invite him for dinner, just like you’ve said we should before!” 

 

scheming, diabolical child. seungcheol has only ever mentioned that once, very casually, thinking his son wouldn’t have caught that in the midst of his blabbering. turns out mingyu does pay attention, even when he’s not. 

 

“that works,” joshua agrees to the plan, “my house is just around the corner from celeano. and i wouldn’t mind driving him up to your place.” he peers at seungcheol hesitantly, seemingly taking his lack of response as a sign of disapproval. “i don’t have to stay for dinner if you don’t want me around, of course.”

 

“oh, no!” seungcheol says quickly, “uh, i mean. you know. you could. i’m not much of a cook though. you’d probably have to settle for ramen or an equivalent of that.” 

 

“ramen’s alright,” joshua laughs, “but i can bring some home cooked food over. i’m not the best at cooking either, but i’ve been told i make a mean japchae.” 

 

seungcheol decides he can’t really argue with that. plus, there’s joshua looking at him with those alluring eyes and mingyu with his hands clasped together in exhortation. he can’t possibly say no to either of them. “okay,” he says simply, chuckling in surrender. his expression turns into a serious one and he expresses his concern, “how much is the fee?” 

 

“these aren’t _official_ lessons,” joshua says, “and i don’t really like charging unnecessarily.” he shrugs, scratching his neck. seungcheol notices joshua’s cross-shaped helix piercing, one that he’d never seen before. 

 

“you could… treat me to weekly lunches downtown. that’d be enough.” joshua looks up at him, biting his bottom lip meekly. 

 

_did he just…_? seungcheol startles, though subtly. this is definitely an unforeseen turn of events, but it's something he'd only just discovered is what he’s always wanted. a gust of wind blows in their direction and he watches joshua try to keep the stack of papers in his lap from flying away, keeping silent as he anticipates seungcheol’s reaction.

 

“okay,” seungcheol says. he thinks he feels butterflies in his stomach.

 

“i really didn’t think you were a man of _this_ few words,” joshua comments, bursting out into a smile. the relief on his face is apparent. 

 

seungcheol laughs, feeling a bit relieved himself. a surge of bravado makes him say, “i’m not, usually, but who wouldn’t be stunned into silence after getting asked out by a ridiculously pretty school teacher, though?” which results in a visible tinge of pink in joshua’s cheeks.

 

their blatant flirting is interrupted by mingyu’s joyful outburst at the thought of learning how to play the guitar and, seungcheol senses, an underlying victory of uniting his two favourite adults together. he winks a thank-you to his son when joshua isn’t looking. mingyu buries his head in his father’s chest and releases muffled giggles into his shirt.

 

mingyu is smart enough to understand their need for space to talk between just the two of them. he busies himself with the other kids and seungcheol manages to have an actual conversation with joshua and finds out more things about him until dusk comes around. goodbyes are exchanged and seungcheol can’t help but stare as joshua walks away, books and papers in arms.

 

“mingyu-ya, how’d you get so smart?” seungcheol asks in the car, looking amusedly at his son next to him. he fondly ruffles mingyu’s hair and pulls him closer to his side.

 

“appa, you are so obvious,” mingyu says, “you’d always be staring at us and you’re always asking about him.” he looks around as if to double-check if no one is listening and whispers conspiratorially to his father, “and one time, i was looking through one of his notebooks, and he had a picture of you cut out from one of your magazine spreads stuck in between the pages. that’s when i knew he has a crush on you too.”

at that, seungcheol breaks out into a huge smile he can barely hide from his crafty son, who taunts him all the ride home.

**Author's Note:**

> don’t ask me about the specifics of how&why seungcheol became a national hero. i was thinking of disney hercules!coups but in an au and it just happened okay.


End file.
